CENTENNIAL, CO - AUGUST 16: Visitors get a closer look at a large granite pillar which has an image of Claire and her beloved horse "Graphite" engraved on it. Hundreds of friends, family, students and teachers, gather at Arapahoe High School to dedicate Clarity Commons, a park on the school grounds honoring and celebrating the life of Claire Davis on what would have been her 18th birthday. Claire Davis was shot at the school by a classmate in December 2013 and later died from her injuries. (Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post)

CENTENNIAL, CO - AUGUST 16: Claire's parents, Desiree and Mike Davis, listen as others honor their daughter. Hundreds of friends, family, students and teachers, gather at Arapahoe High School to dedicate Clarity Commons, a park on the school grounds honoring and celebrating the life of Claire Davis on what would have been her 18th birthday. Claire Davis was shot at the school by a classmate in December 2013 and later died from her injuries. (Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post)

CENTENNIAL, CO - AUGUST 16: Claire's parents, Mike and Desiree Davis, are joined by Gov. John Hickenlooper, right, as they unveil a large granite pillar which has an image of Claire and her beloved horse "Graphite" engraved on it. Hundreds of friends, family, students and teachers, gather at Arapahoe High School to dedicate Clarity Commons, a park on the school grounds honoring and celebrating the life of Claire Davis on what would have been her 18th birthday. Claire Davis was shot at the school by a classmate in December 2013 and later died from her injuries. (Photo by Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post)

CENTENNIAL — Family and friends of Claire Davis gathered Saturday on what would have been her 18th birthday and opened a one-acre “Clarity Commons” garden.

More than 1,000 students and supporters from around metro Denver walked around the intricately-crafted space, which includes shoe prints from Claire’s beloved horse Graphite, dedicated to a belief that acts of kindness and love will change the world.

On Dec. 13, 2013, a few hours after deciding what to wear and worrying about her hair, Claire was sitting on a bench in Arapahoe High School talking with a friend, waiting for physics class, her mother, Desiree Davis, told the crowd.

Fellow student Karl Pierson entered the school with a shotgun, machete and homemade bombs. And Claire, instead of turning away, approached him.

Survivors remember her saying: “Oh my gosh, Karl, what are you doing?” before he shot Claire, who died eight days later of her injuries. Pierson then fatally shot himself.

“When Claire spoke to Karl, she must have known she was putting herself in danger. But she chose to love,” Desiree Davis said.

“If we are to stop violent crime in our schools, we must continually place our attention on our kids….We all need to be aware of others who are crying out for help.”

She said she hoped Clarity Commons, next to the high school, will inspire others who might act as Claire did.

An inscription on a black granite stone, etched with an image of Claire with Graphite, reads: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Arapahoe High School principal Natalie Pramenko said students and staff will go here to sit and reflect, slow down and appreciate beauty.

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Steve Forbet sang at the ceremony: “… I blinked once and she was gone….”

Gov. John Hickenlooper also spoke.

“Today would have been Claire’s 18th birthday, and yet it is she — along with Michael and Desiree and their son Alexander — who once again are giving us a gift,” he said.

Hickenlooper noted that “Claire Davis loved a good bench. She liked to sit and talk with a friend. She liked to sit, alone sometimes, with her thoughts.”

Now in Clarity Commons there are 10 benches, five pairs facing one another.

“Anyone can sit on one of these benches and enjoy a moment,” Hickenlooper said.

“We have chosen to come together. We have chosen humanity and tenderness. We choose love.”

The idea for the commons was born five months ago. Paver stones convey messages from community members, aligned so that visitors can read them as they walk. Newly-planted locust trees grow near pre-existing pines. Careful landscaping and stonework happened rapidly, over four months, driven by donations of more than $300,000 from community members and businesses such as GE Johnson, which oversaw construction.

“Every worker poured his heart and soil into this project,” project manager Dave Kenney said. “We did it for Claire.”

Bruce Finley covers environment issues, the land air and water struggles shaping Colorado and the West. Finley grew up in Colorado, graduated from Stanford, then earned masters degrees in international relations as a Fulbright scholar in Britain and in journalism at Northwestern. He is also a lawyer and previously handled international news with on-site reporting in 40 countries.

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